


The Book of the Elvhenan

by darkrose



Series: Place of Grey Stone [2]
Category: Dragon Age, Dragon Age II
Genre: Alternate Canon, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Backstory, Gen, Worldbuilding
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-05-31
Updated: 2013-05-31
Packaged: 2017-12-13 11:59:36
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,782
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/824071
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/darkrose/pseuds/darkrose
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Background information for the Dragon Age II AU <a href="http://archiveofourown.org/works/773088">The Truth is Plain to See</a>, in which the elves defeated the Tevinter Imperium.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Author's Notes

When I started writing for this prompt, I hoped to explain everything within the context of the story without using extensive author's notes. I quickly realized that I was essentially rewriting 2,000 years of canon history, and even with my tendency toward excessive exposition in fic, I wasn't going to be able to fit everything in. This was especially true since I'm using a tight third-person limited POV, and the characters know a lot of information that they assume everyone else in their world also has.

I've organized these notes into four categories:

  * Language 
  * Timeline 
  * Geography and People 
  * Religion 



Aside from the basic facts--the elves defeated the Imperium and are the dominant race in Thedas, some humans are slaves to the elves, and Male Mage Hawke is Fenris's slave--nothing is set in stone. I'm posting as I write, so it's entirely possibly that I'll realize something just doesn't work and have to change it. Hopefully, though, this will help make sense of a world that's almost, but not quite, entirely unlike canon Thedas.

Once again, ginormous, Qunari-sized thanks to Bellaknoti and Katiebour, whose work on deconstructing the Elven language has been invaluable. Thanks also to the OP of the prompt, and all the anons who chimed in with suggestions, many of which I borrowed. Thanks to Bioware for creating the Dragon Age setting--Thedas for short--and for letting us fans play in their sandbox and do perverted things to their characters when they're not looking. Most of all, thank you for reading.


	2. Language

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The elven language in canon consists of a few words and phrases the Dalish managed to hang onto when their ancient civilization was all but eradicated. Figuring out what the elven language would have been like if the Tevinters hadn't destroyed their cities and enslaved their people has been a challenge. Fortunately for me, [Bellaknoti](http://dragonage.wikia.com/wiki/Elven_language) and [Katiebour](http://archiveofourown.org/works/359253/chapters/582281) have done amazing work to deconstruct the elven language for the DAverse based on the bits and pieces we get in canon. I've stolen shamelessly from them to cobble together a glossary for use in this AU. I focused on how things sound more than grammatical correctness; any bizarre or nonsensical formulations are entirely my fault.

The elven language in canon consists of a few words and phrases the Dalish managed to hang onto when their ancient civilization was all but eradicated. Figuring out what the elven language would have been like if the Tevinters hadn't destroyed their cities and enslaved their people has been a challenge. Fortunately for me, [Bellaknoti](http://dragonage.wikia.com/wiki/Elven_language) and [Katiebour](http://archiveofourown.org/works/359253/chapters/582281) have done amazing work to deconstruct the elven language for the DAverse based on the bits and pieces we get in canon. I've stolen shamelessly from them to cobble together a glossary for use in this AU. I focused on how things sound more than grammatical correctness; any bizarre or nonsensical formulations are entirely my fault.

An additional note on languages: the official language of the Imperium was called Tevinter. The magisters also used Arcanum as the magical language, much like Church Latin isn't identical to the Latin spoken in the Roman Empire. After the Imperium fell, humans in elven-controlled parts of Thedas gradually adopted the elven language, which by that time had incorporated a number of Tevinter loan words (like "slave"). This became known as the common tongue, used primarily by humans, elves living in human cities, and surface dwarves. Outside the human cities, elves take pride in using the "uncorrupted" form of their language and will often pretend not to understand common.

Written Elven is character based, much like Chinese. Since humans don't have the time to spend learning thousands of characters, they've developed a simplified version; it's similar to the differences between traditional written Chinese and the simplified Chinese character set.

 

 **abelas:** ( _sorrow_ ) used alone, is "I'm sorry"; **ir abelas:** would be "I'm very sorry"

 **Aman'harel:** ( _dread defender_ ) formal honorific used to refer to a Fen'lin; sometimes shortened to "Aman"

 **An'dorfdurgen:** ( _place of grey stone_ ) Kirkwall

 **An'ethda'lanen:** ( _place safe children_ ) combination prison/school where human mages are kept; equivalent to the Circle

 **Arhim atish’an:** ( _I/we come in peace_ ) a formal greeting

 **Arlathan:** the largest city of the Elvhenan, located in the north of canon Antiva

 **da'len:** child

 **Din'an:** the Deadlands, the blasted plain that used to be Minrathous, the Tevinter capital

 **durgen'len:** ( _stone people_ ) the dwarves

 **Elana'shemlen:** ( _our place [where we] allow humans_ ) permanent camp outside Arlathan where humans are permitted to live

 **eluvian:** enchanted mirrors used for long-distance communication

 **elvhe'lin:** ( _elf -blooded_ ) child of a human mother and elven father; often possessing elven traits like slightly-pointed ears and green or golden eyes

 **elvhen:** the People, the elves' name for themselves

 **Elvhenan:** Place of Our People, the elvhen civilization in general, or the elvhen "country"

 **Fen'lin:** ( _wolf blood_ ) Wolf-Kin, the elvhen born during the dark phase of the moon who are dedicated at birth to the Dread Wolf as part of the bargain Shartan made to free the gods during the Tevinter War

 **lethallin:** ( _blood friend_ ) term of endearment for close friend [ **A/N:** In canon, the feminine form "lethallan" is sometimes used. Because "lan" doesn't seem to have a specific meaning, and because the usage in canon is not consistent, I've decided not to use the feminine form for the purposes of this AU.]

 **mi'lethal:** ( _blade kin_ ) second-in-command of a warband; used for both mages and non-mages; a warband leader may often choose a different mi'lethal for each mission

 **Hahren:** ( _respected elder_ ) member of the governing council; includes all clan heads and leaders of the the Circle of Magi, the major craft guilds, the Emerald Guard, the Ravens, the Fen'lin, and the Speakers

 **Halamshiral:** a city of the Elvhenan, located in on the northern edge of the Arbor Wilds (southeastern Orlais in canon)

 **Sha'len:** ( _one who protects_ ) among elves, a governor of a human settlement; used as a term of respect from humans when addressing an unfamiliar elf

 **Shalen'an:** the residence of the Shalen; can also refer to the district where city elves live

 **shem'elvhen:** ( _human elves_ ) an insulting term for elves who live in human cities

 **shemlen:** ( _quick people/children_ ) humans; refers to both their impatience and the brevity of their lives

 **shemlen'an:** ( _human place_ ) any human city

 **shem'lin:** ( _human-blooded_ ) child of an elven mother and human father; often possessing human traits like blond hair, very pale or very dark skin, and blue or dark-brown eyes

 **Tirashan:** a city of the Elvhenan, located in the area marked as the Tirashan Forest in canon (far western Orlais)

 **vallas'elgar:** ( _spirit writing_ ) lyrium tattoos, including the extensive full-body markings of the Fen'lin

 **vallaslin:** ( _blood writing_ ) facial tattoos worn to indicate clan affiliation and/or patron god

 **Vhenadahl:** ( _heart tree_ ) a sapling from the Great Tree in Arlathan; the Vhenadahl is at the center of a grove that serves as a center of worship and contemplation for the city elves

 **Vhen'direl:** ( _our people speaker_ ) the closest things the elvhen have to priests; tenders of the sacred groves and keepers of records

 **Vhen'lethal:** ( _kin people_ ) a clan

 **Vir:** ( _way_ ); a philosophy or group following that philosophy

 **Vir Atish'an:** ( _Way of Peace_ ) a faction among the elvhen that advocates complete separation from the shemlen

 **Vir Misaan:** ( _Way of the Sword_ ) Fenris' warband

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> An additional note on languages: the official language of the Imperium was called Tevinter. The magisters also used Arcanum as the magical language, much like Church Latin isn't identical to the Latin spoken in the Roman Empire. After the Imperium fell, humans in elven-controlled parts of Thedas gradually adopted the elven language, which by that time had incorporated a number of Tevinter loan words (like "slave"). This became known as the common tongue, used primarily by humans, elves living in human cities, and surface dwarves. Outside the human cities, elves take pride in using the "uncorrupted" form of their language and will often pretend not to understand common.
> 
> Written Elven is character based, much like Chinese. Since humans don't have the time to spend learning thousands of characters, they've developed a simplified version; it's similar to the differences between traditional written Chinese and the simplified Chinese character set.


	3. Timeline

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Since the elves are effectively immortal, they view time differently from humans. If you ask an elf when an event occurred, the answer will usually be given relative to another event:
> 
>  _In the Year of the Fen'lin_ = The year the bargain was struck between Fen'Harel and Shartan acting on behalf of the elves 
> 
> _In the five hundreth year since we first met the shemlen_ = 500 years after the Rivaini first came to Thedas
> 
>  _Six years after the end of the War of the Quick Children_ = 10 years after the fall of Minrathous
> 
>  _The season before Amriel became Clan Elder_ = 1-3 months prior to an event it's assumed you're familiar with 
> 
> The one time period the elves do track closely is months; specifically the night each month when there is no moon. Based on the canon calendar, a year on Thedas is made up of twelve thirty-day months. Even though the moon on Thedas is always full, for my purposes, it cycles through phases from full to dark and back to full, with the full and dark phases lasting for two nights. Any elven children born between sunset and sunrise during the nights the moon is dark are Fen'lin, sworn to the service of Fen'Harel. Elven women will often try to delay or hasten labor in order to avoid having a Fen'lin child.
> 
> Under the magisters, the humans had their own calendar, but no one knows how it worked. Humans under elven rule track time by counting from the fall of Minrathous as Year Zero. The current year in the human count is 2002 AEM (Ab Exscidium Minrathous = After the Destruction of Minrathous). Humans, and elves who deal with them, also frequently break months down into three ten-day weeks--or six half-weeks--per month.

**2000 years ago:** First humans arrive in Thedas from the north; they are mostly traders and explorers, the ancestors of the Rivaini. The elves initiate contact; the humans for their part are in awe of the much more advanced elven civilization. The elves notice the short lifespans of the humans, but they don't yet realize how they will be affected.

 **1800 years ago:** A second wave of humans comes from the east, settling in what is now Ferelden. There are some minor clashes and occasionally some trading, but for the most part, they want to be left alone and the elves are fine with this. These are the ancestors of the Chasind tribes.

 **1500 years ago:** The third major wave of humans arrive, again from the north. This group is much larger and more organized than the previous waves. They call themselves the Tevinters, and are ruled by an oligarchy of powerful magi. The Tevinters quickly establish permanent settlements, alarming the elves.

The elves initiate contact with the Tevinters. They cautiously agree to some exchanges of goods and ideas. The elves on the mainland lose contact with the clans on Seheron. The Tevinter annex the Rivaini into their growing empire. They also make contact with the entities they call the Old Gods, who teach them the secrets of blood magic.

 **1400 years ago:** The fourth and final wave of humans comes to Thedas over the Weathered Pass. They are primarily nomadic desert tribes; they call themselve the Avvar, settle in the Anderfels and have little to no contact with the elves.

 **1300 years ago:** The elves realize that contact with humans is causing them to lose their immortality. Around this time, the elves find that they are unable to contact the Creators directly. They close their borders to the Tevinter Imperium. This is interpreted as an act of war. The Imperium attacks the smaller elven settlements first, and then destroys the elven cities of Tirashan and Halamshiral, killing many elves and capturing some as slaves. The ensuing conflict is called the Long War by the Tevinters, and the War of the Quick Children by the elves.

 **1200 years ago:** The Imperium lays siege to Arlathan. In desperation, the elves awaken Shartan, the First Hahren, from uthenara. Upon learning what has happened, Shartan sacrifices himself in order to enter the Beyond and confront Fen'Harel. He learns that more than anything, the Trickster wants to be respected and worshipped like the other gods of the elvhen. Shartan convinces him to play a game of chance to determine whether or not he'll release the gods. During the game, Shartan distracts Fen'Harel with a shiny object--the moon--long enough to swap out the dice, so he's able to win. Fen'Harel is so amused by having been tricked that he agrees to Shartan's terms. The result is that from henceforth, elvhen children born during the dark of the moon will be dedicated to the Dread Wolf, and will give up their immortality in order to serve him in the Beyond after death. He teaches the elvhen the secret of the vallas'elgar, the lyrium tattoos that will allow his servants to walk freely in both the mortal and spirit worlds, at the price of a shortened lifespan. Legend says that Shartan remains in the Beyond as Fen'Harel's lover, watching to ensure that he keeps his end of the bargain.

The first of the Fen'lin--the Wolf-Kin--are given their markings and unleashed as living weapons on the Imperium. They break the siege of Arlathan and lead the armies of the elvhanan all the way to Minrathous. The ensuing arcane battle leaves a glass plain where the Imperial capital once stood, called the Dead Lands ever after. The Fen'lin eradicate the Magisters and then follow them into the Beyond to destroy their spirits, "removing them forever from the weave of the world," according to legend. At the time, no one realizes how badly the Veil has been torn. Also in the spirit realm, the Creators battle the Nameless Ones; true to his nature, Fen'harel adhered to the letter of the agreement amd released both the good and the evil deities of elven pantheon. The Creators defeat their rivals and imprison them beneath the Frozen Seas.

The Rivani, who rebelled against the Imperium in support of the elves, are granted lands in the northeast for their own. The humans in the rest of the former empire are confined to their former cities and immediate environs, guarded by the elves.

 **1025 years ago:** A massive demonic incursion devastates much of northern Thedas. The elves discover that these demons are actually abominations created when the Tevinter mage-lords (living and dead) were possessed after the destruction of Minrathous. They succeed in driving the abominations back to the Dead Lands, but at a heavy cost in both human and elven lives. Most of the remaining darkspawn flee to the south, although the heart of the former Imperium continues to have a demon problem.

 **100 years ago:** A human prophet named Andraste teaches that the Tevinter-descended humans in Thedas are being punished for abandoning their traditional monotheistic religion, and for following the magisters. Because Andrastean faith preaches acceptance and explicitly opposes rebellion, the elves tolerate it. The new faith is strongly anti-magic, believing that magic is an elven thing that humans should avoid, which allows the elves to position themselves as the defenders of human mages.

 **900 years ago:** In recognition of the efforts of some humans to fight the creatures humans call darkspawn, the Council of Hahren gives a few human cities the designation of "Free Cities", where they are allowed to govern themselves with minimal elven oversight. One condition is that any mages must be turned over to the Emerald Guard. The cities of Halamshiral and Tirashan, are re-established to give the elvhenan a foothold in the south and east, respectively. Most of the Free Cities adopt the Andrastean religion.

 **850 years ago:** The elves discover that lyrium can mitigate the effects of the Quickening. Those elves who have contact with humans begin marking themselves with simpler versions of the vallas'elgar, typically around the wrists. Human mages are identified and taken to combination prison/schools, where they can be closely watched for blood magic. 

**700 years ago:** A schism develops between those elves who believe that the People have abandoned their traditional ways, and those who believe that the People must adapt. The traditionalists call themselves the Dalish, and eventually leave the elven cities to spend most of the year wandering as nomads throughout Thedas. Most avoid contact with humans, but a small, radical faction believes that humans should have all been exterminated. Humans they encounter outside of their cities are usually killed on sight.

 **500 years ago:** A human revolt in the human city of Kirkwall is brutally suppressed by the Fen'lin, but not before it spreads to other elven-controlled human cities. Humans who participated in the revolt are imprisoned. To meet the demand for lyrium, captive humans to the dwarven cities, where they're put to work in the mines. 

**400 years ago:** Several hundred years later, another wave of human rebellions break out following a massive drought. Once again, the revolt is suppressed and the leaders imprisoned and later sent to the dwarves. In an attempt to address some of the human complaints, the elven administrative bureacracy is restructured, and humans in the cities are allowed to appoint magistrates to handle minor criminal offenses. Those found guilty are conscripted to work as servants for the elves. Because the elven language doesn't even have a word for the concept, they use the old Tevinter word: slave. The Council also authorizes the formation of what is essentially a secret police force called the Ravens, to watch the humans from the shadows so that future revolts can be stopped before they begin.

 **300 years ago:** The Council refuses to allow city elves to bring their human children and lovers into Arlathan. Instead, the permanent encampment of Elana'shemlen is established outside the city, where city elves who return home can visit their humans.

 **250 years ago:** A movement called the Vir Atish'an--the Way of Peace--develops in response to what many see as changes for the worse in elven society. The Vir Atish'an teaches that elves and humans should be completely separate. One group even leaves the cities and forms a tribe among the Dalish.

 **100 years ago:** A scandal erupts when Arianni, Sha'len of Kirkwall, becomes pregnant. Her husband is in Arlathan, but she is very close to her human slave. Her son is born during the dark of the moon, but she chooses to remain in Kirkwall with him. When he's around 16, she sends him to Arlathan to be trained as a mage, and sends her human lover to the Elana'shemlen. She returns to Arlathan shortly before her lover dies. Arianni is replaced by Orsino. Initially, he seems like he'll be a good administrator, but when he meets Meredith, he becomes distracted. 

_Recent History_

**2 years ago:** A second Blight--as the darkspawn incursions have come to be called--begins, this time devastating the south. Many refugees flee to Kirkwall; eventually, Orsino closes the city.

 **8 months ago:** The darkspan are driven back south of the Abyssal Reach and over the Gamordan Peaks, ending the Blight.

 **4 months ago:** A full-scale rebellion breaks out in Kirkwall. After several elves are killed, Orsino contacts Arlathan to request help.

 **3 weeks ago:** Fenris and his warband are pulled away from demon-hunting in the north to deal with the situation. When it becomes clear that a single person is behind the worst of it, Feynriel focuses on tracking him. He finds Hawke's blood, used in a ritual by Danarius, and is able to enter Hawke's dreams and locate him in the physical world. Feynriel stuns Hawke, breaking the blood link between him and Danarius, and Fenris captures Danarius and takes him to Orsino. The warband returns to Arlathan.

 **Present:** Fenris is ordered back to Kirkwall to relieve Orsino of his position and take command of the city himself.


End file.
